Monday, May 24, 2010

The other day I arrived home to find a box in my mail box from my good friends at Miami Cigar and Company. I opened the box to find 6 Nestor Miranda 1989 Oscuro Torpedos. The Nestor Miranda 1989 is manufactured by My Father Cigar Corp. I think Rene Castaneda described this cigar wonderfully, “ A satisfying blend of rich, aromatic and flavor filled Nicaraguan tobaccos, from the Esteli and Jalapa Filler.”

The Nestor Miranda 1989 comes in three sizes Robusto 5 x 50, Toro 6 x 50 and Torpedo 6 1/8 x 52. It is also comes with two different wrappers Oscuro a medium bodied smoke or Rosado which is more medium to full bodied. These cigars are great not just for price(between $5 and $5.50 per stick) but also for enjoyability.

I smoked the Nestor Miranda 1989 Torpedo with the Oscuro Wrapper. The cigar was consistent all the way through with hint of cocoa and nutmeg. The smoke set off a sweet tobacco aroma into the air. The smoke was pleasant to be around, at least that is what I was told. This cigar was a little mild for my palate but was amazingly enjoyable to smoke. I didn’t have to touch up the cigar once. It stayed lit while I carried on conversations with my fellow friends of the ash. I would highly recommend this cigar to anyone that wants a great smoke at a reasonable price.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

I want to start out by saying thank you to my wonderful friend Jeff Borysiewicz (JB) and the entire Corona Staff at the Downtown Orlando location. To my new friends Guillermo Leon, Jose Victoria, Rene Castaneda, and Mario Guzman thank you so much for a wonderful time.

Let me paint the picture for you of this amazing night. The Downtown Orlando Corona, nicely decorated in La Aurora banners and Presidente beer banners from the doors to the bar. The center of the bar near the fountain had an amazing spread of catered food. The band was playing the finest Spanish music. There were photographers to document this exceptional affair. The atmosphere was electric. There were boxes of La Aurora cigars being sold and Presidente beer being enjoy by the wonderful patrons. I was honored to be at this event and yet I’ve never been more comfortable. Our hosts for the evening couldn’t have been more generous and amazingly informative. They were answering questions and sharing information about all of their products. The highlight of my night was sitting down with Guillermo, his friend Arturo and Arturo’s wife sharing stories of the Dominican cigar festival and enjoying the finest La Aurora cigars and drinking a cold Presidente beer.

Now, the reason for this momentous event, the La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107. The La Aurora 107 is released to honor their 107 years in business. La Aurora is the oldest cigar maker in the Dominican. The La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107 is made using Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Ecuadorian tobaccos.

My first impression of the 107 was the cigar was well constructed with a veiny medium brown wrapper. The veins were neatly lined up all the way down the cigar. The band was beautifully made with the La Aurora trademark lion head prominently printed on the band with La Aurora Serie Aniversario 107. The wrapper had a very sweet smell with hints of honey. The foot of the cigar gave off a hint of spice. The cap cut very cleanly with my Monte Blanc scissor cutter.

At first light, I picked up a hint of pepper, cinnamon and pine. The draw of the La Aurora 107 was clean and open, effortless and produced a perfect amount of rich white smoke. The smoke produced a sweet smell of wood and tobacco. The burn was perfectly even leaving behind a tight light grey, almost white ash.

At about the halfway mark the La Aurora is getting epic. The cigar started to pickup notes of cedar, honey and sweet tobacco. The burn was still perfect with the tight light grey ash still attached. At this point the cigar has stabilized with less pepper.

At the finish I was a little concerned because I smoke cigars quickly that it would build up to a harsh end. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The final half of the La Aurora 107 finished incredibly smooth and flavorful. The cedar and cinnamon notes were still very prevalent with slight hints of sweet tobacco and honey notes that I loved. This beautiful cigar burned perfectly all the way through. In case you were wondering, the ash fell off about half way through. There were no real signs of nicotine in this stick. Mild to medium, very smooth and immensely enjoyable. I would recommend this cigar to anyone that enjoys a well priced (between $6 to $8) and well constructed cigar. I hope you all enjoy this cigar as much as I did and happy smoking.